>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news."

>> troops loyal to gaddafi use heavy push -- forced to stop the rebel push across the west. the town recaptured by government troops. mr. gaddafi that a son of warns of chaos if his father fails. >> you will see its increase. you'll see millions of illegal immigrants. the terror will be next to your door. >> welcome to "gmt." a world of news and opinion. also in the program -- former french president jacques chirac goes on trial on charges he misused public funds while he was the mayor of paris.

and pro-democracy activists in egypt target the institutions synonymous with repression under hosni mubarak. hello, and welcome. it is midday in london, 6:00 p.m. in delhi and washington they are waking up to news that forces loyal to colonel gaddafi pounded on opposition fighters to halt the advance toward tripoli. opposition forces have been driven out of the town of bin jawad. gaddafi has begun using heavy air and artillery. our world affairs expert and cameraman duncan stone went to bin jawad. here is their report. >> at dawn, it was immediately clear that the rebels' enthusiasm and fighting spirit was fading. it carried about 150 miles west along the coast, beating colonel gaddafi's truth back along the

way. but now the supply lines are stretched and colonel gaddafi's troops are beginning to fight on more friendly territory. yesterday we went with the rebels to the next town, which they attacked fiercely, but the defenders had better weapons. and this morning when they went up to bin jawad, we found the rebels had faded away during the night. from a distance, we saw a checkpoint which we eventually decided was probably manned by gaddafi loyalists. it was. a couple of soldiers opened fire in our direction. >> keep your head down. >> we drove down hastily down the road to the important oil town captured by the rebels friday night. but today, far fewer of them were making a stand. the rebels being forced all the way back here. it has been quite a success for colonel gaddafi's army.

rebel gunners blaze the way. a russian built -- colonel gaddafi air force sir of around and came in for the attack. bombs landed away from the rebel positions. whether the pilot missed on purpose was not clear. we didn't wait to find out. the bomb landed just there. the planes coming around again. so we have to move over here, away from the crossroads which will be the objective. we will take cover here, i think. >> the rebels could not have any real answer to colonel gaddafi's air power but now after rushing with so much enthusiasm, some of them are starting to head back down the road. bbc news, ras lanuf. >> let us go to our correspondent in benghazi.

we heard of rebel fighters being pushed back by gaddafi troops. is benghazi still firmly under rebel fighter control? >> it is. however, benghazi is -- to receive the wounded in battle. i was just at the hospital that has the biggest icu unit and they say people who were badly unit -- wounded to bin jawad will not make the several hundred drive to the hospital here. however, is certainly did a person i spoke to said here of the hospital they have enough medical supplies, more, in fact, the during the time colonel gaddafi was in control in benghazi. they say too many staff "renault what to do with -- but they know what to do with." people, from all over the world to provide support and expertise. there is a sense of fear that the wounded have not stopped coming in. of course, there are still

people lying in a hospital bed with severe injuries. one man had a bullet through his heart and lung. although he said he would do it all again. >> pretty horrific picture being painted. what about the rebel fighters, the protesters? are they intimating out all that they are prepared to talk? >> they are prepared. the national council says that is the grouping of people put themselves in charge of benghazi. they are prepared, they say, to negotiate gaddafi's departure from power certainly. that is the most and pour in thing for them. they say two things are not on the table. one, that colonel gaddafi stays in control and, two, but that libya become divided. that is not negotiable for them. >> thank you. voices in libya are increasingly calling on the international

community to enforce a no-fly zone. the british defense secretary indicated just yesterday that the no-fly zone in libya was still on the cards. he said the issue will be discussed at a meeting of nato defense ministers later this week. joining me from brussels is a nato secretary general rasmussen. thank you for joining me, mr. rasmussen. we will come to the no-fly zone in a moment the give me your impressions of colonel gaddafi's position as leader of this turbulent country. >> it is absolutely outrageous what we are witnessing now in libya. the systematic attacks against the civilian population may, as stated by the u.n. security council, amount to crimes against humanity. i would like to stress that the government of libya has a responsibility to protect its own population. >> we are hearing reports that this isn't happening, that many civilians are being caught up in

of the fighting. it implies to me that international pressure is building on yourself as we see your members divided, especially over the issue of a no-fly zone. >> nato stands united. we have asked our military authorities to conduct a prudent planning for all eventualities. however, nato has no intention to intervene. i would assume that any operational role would be in accordance with an pursuant to united nations mandate. >> how soon do you think the united nations will put pressure or ask you to intervene as these reports of civilians being killed, wounded, or turgid in libya continued to emerge? >> i know the correct security council resolution does not authorize the use of the current

security council resolution does not authorize the use of armed forces but i cannot imagine the international community and the united nations stand idly by and that often continues to attack his own people systematically. >> we have heard from the british secretary yesterday that the no-fly zone -- the possibility is still on the table. the u.s. seems keen. yet, we have heard not such teen comments from turkey and france. it does appear there is conflict within nato. >> i would remind you that nato is an alliance of free and open democracy. it is quite natural we do have a discussion -- freely and openly, about all options. i will not go into details about our planning, but we stand united in our requests to the military to conduct prudent planning for all eventualities. >> i appreciate your reluctance to go into detail, but tell me,

how effectively and how quickly could a no-fly zone be implemented by nato? >> a no-fly zone is indeed a very comprehensive undertaking that would demand a lot of military assets. so, it is a complicated task, and this is also the reason why we have asked our military to conduct prudent planning for all eventualities. but let me stress once again, nato has no intention to intervene. and i would assume that any operational role would be pursuant to u.n. mandate. >> nato trains police and army forces in places such as tunisia and algeria. the role of these forces has been criticized heavily when it comes to their handling of their own civilians. are you rethinking the training of police and army?

>> we have, indeed, partnerships with countries in the region and we have also engaged with their military and their securities sectors. however, our clear goal has been to confuse democratic principles in their thinking. -- infuse democratic principles. and it is of utmost importance we assist the countries towards -- in transition toward democracy's if they so request. i think reforms of defense and the securities sector are very important elements in the transition toward democracy. >> secretary-general of nato, thank you very much for joining me. >> you're welcome. >> time now to take a look at some of the other stories making headlines. the american defense secretary

robert gates is in afghanistan for a two-day visit. he arrived at the american air base in the back room at times of renewed tension. on sunday, crowds of anti american bombing -- demonstrators took to the streets of kabul in protest of the death of nine children in a nato attack. it is a limb that decry minister says tend thousand houses will have to be demolished because -- new zealand's prime minister says 10,000 houses will have to be demolished. the former french president jacques chirac goes on trial today, charged with misusing public funds what the mayor of paris. it is alleged he paid friends and allies for town hall jobs that did not exist. he always denied wrong -- wrongdoing. from paris, our correspondent has this report. >> jacques chirac was the president with the common touch. now he is on trial as a common

criminal. it charged with embezzlement. he will be in the same court room as marie antoinette, the only time since petin and before him, louis xvi that the highest in the land faces justice. the allegations is as mayor of paris he paid 21 close associates for non existent jobs as part of his rivals for power in the 1990's. it is claimed taxpayer money was channeled toward 6 comes with it -- conservative party. but now the man who regards -- now is in town hall, the socialist mayor, agreed last summer to drop the case in exchange for the ruling unp party and ex-president paying back the 2.2 million euros that were allegedly misappropriated. suddenly there was no plaintiff in the case. and the prosecutor, who had done all of the investigating, said in his view, there was no case to answer.

yet, the trial will go ahead. on friday, in a bar next to the town hall, a group of concerned citizens were meeting for an impromptu press conference. they are one of two groups of several plaintiffs pursuing mr. chirac and place of the city. >> in uk, a member of parliament who has been convicted of misuse of funds, they resigned. even italy judging berlusconi. we did not want france to be ridiculous and be the only country not allowed to judge a former president. >> mr. chirac that a former prime minister was convicted as part of the same case and later disqualified from holding public office for a year. last week, he was appointed the new foreign secretary. the french are a forgiving what. you would expect the former

president to face and a more serious than a public embarrassment in court. >> christian fraser, bbc news, paris. >> still to come on "gmt" -- a russian outpost on the black sea and the pain and aside for ukrainian opposition. this special report. british government sources say prince andrew may not survive as the u.k. trade envoy if more damaging allegations emerged. several newspapers criticized his friendship with an american finance. the was convicted of sex offenses. plunged -- prince andrew denied any wrongdoing. >> prince andrew has been a roving ambassador promoting british trade since 2001. it is a job that takes him all over the world, helping to secure trade deals and meeting, at times, autocratic leaders. but a series of allegations have led some to question his

position. news of the world highlighted his friendship with an american billionaire and convicted sex offender. jeffrey epstein served 13 months in jail and to thousand eight for soliciting prostitutes -- prostitution from a minor. the son-in-law of the ousted tunisian president at buckingham palace -- and travel expenses, half a million pam's last year, as long been the focus of attention by critics. the question being asked by some is whether prince andrew is working in britain's interest or his own. they point to the sale of his home, bought by the son-in-law of the president of tax than 4 3 million pounds more than the asking price. despite the growing criticism, the government is standing behind the prince. >> i am not an expert on the embarrassment. have not had time with everything going on in the middle east to look at those

things, but certainly i have seen around the world of lot of good that he has done for this country. >> but with questions now being asked in parliament, is prince andrew and asset or liability? >> we would like you to get in touch with us and the best way is to go to our website, bbc.com/gmt. this is "gmt" from bbc world news. at the headlines -- troops loyal to colonel gaddafi used heavy force to stop level pushed toward but west. his son ward your of chaos and his father failed. former french president jacques chirac is about to go on trial on charges that he misused public funds while he was the mayor of paris. time now for the business news. jamie robertson. all like, something we are

discussing over and over again. -- oil. >> the white house is now considering tapping the nation's strategic oil reserve to help control the surging crude oil prices. of real -- it does is really only taken an extraordinary circumstances. trouble in the middle east is driving crude prices higher. brent crude is up more than a dollar, over $170 a barrel. u.s. crude futures at $106 a barrel. an oil expert from the center of global and energy study say the most industrialized countries have a system to deal with a disruption in supplies. >> the price is the what? not really because of the actual supply limitation. disruption and libya would take a week or two before they impact on italy, which is the most directly dependent on libyan oil but even the italian system have been able to manage their own supply system.

then there is the strategics petroleum reserve, and this is for the u.s. but all industrial countries have this system and this has been used in the 1991 gulf war when there was a disruption and hurricane katrina, as you mentioned. the system has been there since the mid-1970s for the industrialized countries and they can have enough oil to replace any disruption of imports and they can sustain net imports for 90 days for total. 1 million or 2 million barrels a day, for two years or so. >> another in this. bob diamond, a new chief of british bank barclays will be paid a bonus of $10 million for last year. the bank says his reward is fast performance for the head of the company's investment banking and wealth management operations. of the credit worthiness of greece has been reduced by moody's.

its plan to reduce its debt burden is very ambitious and just may not be achieved -- might not be achievable. lbmh will take over the italian jeweler bulgari. at the family swapped its 51% stake for a shareholding in lbm h and two seats on the board. finally, a look of the market. finally -- up despite the oil prices. on the other hand, the ftse has managed to make a gain on the back largely of commodity companies. >> thank you very much. after the fall of hosni mubarak, pro-democracy activist in egypt have focused their attention on the institution seen as enforcers of the old president. over the weekend protesters stormed the secret police headquarters to obtain documents they say show evidence of

repression. this report from cairo. >> revolutions don't happen in one day. and in cairo, 30 years of repression continues to spell out on the street. the target -- another building belonging to the feared and protested state security forces. they are shredding papers inside, he says. police destroying records and documents. they are demanding the state security service be disbanded -- disbanded. >> we want it turned into an information gathering authority. nothing more. >> a state security apparatus must be dissolved. its real function was to protect the regime. state the security was never there to protect us.

all it did was set its thugs on us and spy on us. >> while they chanted for peace, it is those very thugs blamed for the violence that followed. a gang of counter-protesters clashed with the crowd. it was the first time since president mubarak stepped down that armed aggressors would attack a demonstration. the army held the building and tried to break of the fighters. it was with third night in a row state security has been targeted. on sunday night, the crowd was allowed to break into the main headquarters in cairo. they found eight floors of underground cells and piles of documents, some already shredded, which they say could hold evidence of human rights abuses and corruption. first a president, then a prime minister deposed. people still one more.

the new cabinet will be sworn in later, replacing some of those figures associated with the old regime. they hope it will be enough to bring demonstrations to an end. bbc news, cairo. >> it has been described as a bomb on a slow fuse. the ukrainian government agreed to renew the agreement that allows the rush of's black sea fleet to use a city as a base. the parliament and kiev extended the lease in exchange for cheap gas. the bbc moscow carbonic -- correspondents -- has been there to sample the atmosphere just one year on. >> the russian navy is everywhere in this historic port of svastapol. it should lie an anchor as small cracks bonds across the bay. modern missile cruisers with space-age weapons. although the navy is russian,

the city is now in ukraine. in a violent section -- session of the ukrainian parliament last year, russia apostate permission to use the port was extended until 2042 -- russia's permission to use the port was extended. many ukrainians want to keep it and many russians wanted back. on a hill overlooking the harbor, i met retired capt. he once served the soviet union but when it disintegrated, he joined the fledgling ukrainian navy. >> i can't imagine any mechanism that would let it become part of russia without blood being spilled. nobody here thinks seriously about it -- but to justice of the way is impossible. the lessons need to think of that -- think about whether they really need to be here. >> it is in the crimea and was once the pride of the russian empire. but in the 1950's, the soviet government's joined it to the

ukraine and that is where the seeds of the dispute were sown. the black sea fleet has been here for more than two and ended years and for many russians it is unthinkable it should ever leave. to much blood was built here in the crimean war and the second world war and they simply can't accept that this city is now part of ukraine. already, the black sheep the black sea fleet has had to withdraw from some of the police are around the city. this once secret submarine base is now a public museum. even a nuclear blast proof doors on display. but for former russian naval officers, losing this city would be the last straw. >> the understand in ukraine that for rush of this city is not just another port. it is a symbol of russia. it can be a city of two countries but unthinkable without russia. >> the date that the russian

fleet would have to leave the city is now far enough away to avoid serious tensions. it is like a bomb in a slow fuse and at some point that it will need to be resolved. >> that is just about it for this edition of "gmt." before we go, a reminder of the main story -- pro-government forces stopped libyan rebels pushed toward the west. nato secretary general said the alliance has no intention to intervene in libya. here is what is coming up later. the program will have an interview with the sarah palin and her native alaska to see what she is thinking about a possible presidential bid. that is on world news america at these times on bbc world news and of course bbc america. all of that with matt frye. please stay with us here on bbc world is. -- world news.

>> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.